AMSTERDAM and TEANECK, N.J., Jan. 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) today announced that it has been selected by Rabobank to deliver a broad portfolio of application services to drive operational efficiencies and improve productivity. The deal expands Cognizant's relationship with Rabobank Group, a full-range financial services provider rated among the world's 30 largest financial institutions.

Under the five-year agreement, Cognizant will provide application development, maintenance, and testing services to Rabobank, leveraging its consulting capabilities and proven financial industry expertise. Cognizant will combine its global talent base, a strong team of Dutch professionals with deep local business insight, and its global best practices to help Rabobank reduce the total cost of ownership, and ensure high quality and consistency across its applications portfolio. Cognizant will also help Rabobank optimize its strategic IT investments to achieve greater levels of efficiency and realize its business objectives.

"Rabobank places great importance on continuously surpassing the expectations of our customers and adding discernible value. In addition, the goal is to ensure business continuity, drive cost efficiency, and increase business productivity," said Rene Steenvoorden, Chief Information Officer at Rabobank. "Cognizant's expertise will further strengthen our ability to meet this goal and respond to changing technology and business needs, both in the short and long term."

"We are pleased to have been selected by Rabobank as a strategic partner," said Santosh Thomas, Senior Vice President and Head of Continental Europe and Growth Markets for Cognizant. "Cognizant is committed to optimizing Rabobank's applications portfolio for enhanced agility, service-level predictability, and operational improvements. We look forward to helping Rabobank define new standards in innovation and customer satisfaction, while mining efficiencies from its systems and leveraging those savings to fund strategic initiatives for future growth."

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About the Rabobank GroupRabobank Group is a full-range financial services provider that operates on cooperative principles. Its origins lie in the local loan cooperatives that were founded in the Netherlands nearly 110 years ago by enterprising people who had virtually no access to the capital market. Rabobank Group is comprised of independent local Rabobanks plus Rabobank Nederland, their umbrella organisation, and a number of specialist subsidiaries.

Overall, Rabobank Group has approximately 60,000 employees who serve about 10 million customers in 47 countries. In terms of Tier I capital, Rabobank Group is among the world's 30 largest financial institutions. Rabobank is consistently awarded a high rating by all rating agencies. The local Rabobanks and their clients form Rabobank Group's core cooperative business. The banks are members and shareholders of the supralocal cooperative organisation, Rabobank Nederland, which advises the banks and supports their local services. Rabobank Nederland also supervises, on behalf of the Dutch central bank, the solvency, liquidity and administrative organisation of the local Rabobanks. Rabobank Nederland further acts as an (international) wholesale bank and as a bankers' bank to the Group and is the holding company of a large number of specialized subsidiaries. Rabobank Group combines the best of two worlds; the local involvement and personal touch of the local Rabobanks with the expertise and economies of scale of Rabobank Nederland and its subsidiaries. For more information, visit www.rabobank.com.

About CognizantCognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) is a leading provider of information technology, consulting, and business process outsourcing services, dedicated to helping the world's leading companies build stronger businesses. Headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey (U.S.), Cognizant combines a passion for client satisfaction, technology innovation, deep industry and business process expertise, and a global, collaborative workforce that embodies the future of work. With over 50 delivery centers worldwide and approximately 150,400 employees as of September 30, 2012, Cognizant is a member of the NASDAQ-100, the S&P 500, the Forbes Global 2000, and the Fortune 500 and is ranked among the top performing and fastest growing companies in the world. Visit us online at www.cognizant.com or follow us on Twitter: Cognizant.

Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release includes statements which may constitute forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the accuracy of which are necessarily subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions as to future events that may not prove to be accurate. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied include general economic conditions and the factors discussed in our most recent Form 10-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Cognizant undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

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